Transfer to Port

[Tigrou]

I've got the shared transfer for my Saga cruise.  Never done this before, I've always travelled to the port the day before and stayed overnight at an hotel.  I'm looking forward to not having the hassle of handling my luggage on/off trains and taxis but think I may miss the excitement of waking up to see the ship having arrived in port.  I wish there was an option of having the transfer but being able to travel the day before to get the best of both worlds.

 

Can anyone tell me what time they aim to get passengers to the ship?  It's about a 4-hour drive from home to Dover and with it being a shared transfer I'm expecting it to be longer than that, unless I happen to be the last one collected.  I'm just wondering what time they're likely to pick me up, and also whether they give people a reasonable amount of time between boarding and sailaway rather than rushing straight to the muster drill.

 

 

[Glenndale]

On our previous 2 cruises we have been the last pick up. Probably because we are close to the A5 and M1.

There was a 'comfort' stop on the way and we arrived at the port around 2pm.

Because the ships are reasonably small, embarkation was fairly swift and we had time to unpack and explore the ship before sailaway.

They use VW Caravelle type cars.

Edited June 9, 2019 by Glenndale

[lincslady]

We are about 3 1/2 hours from Dover, and have mostly been the first to be picked up.  Saga say that they add an extra hour to travelling time, to allow for pick-ups and snags.  You are likely (I guess) to be picked up between 8 and 9, and should get to the ship - in our case it has been - around 12.30 to 1.30.  Boarding generally starts about 12.30 , and you get shown to your cabin, and at present, on Sapphire, a lunch/afternoon tea is served from about 1 to 3, in the main lounge - not exactly a proper lunch, but pretty nice.  Muster drill a bit later, but usually not much time after that before sailing.

 

The present arrangement regarding pickup is that a Saga person phones up about two days prior to departure, with a definite time and driver's name, and if you ask they will tell you where else you will be calling for others, or if they will already be aboard.  And of course a comfort stop en route, usually at a motorway service station.  You may well not come back with the same people.

 

Dover is a very nice port to cruise from, small and with no more than two ships in on the same day.

[Tigrou]

Thank you both, that's very helpful.

 

I've sailed from Dover before, would like to have stayed overnight the night before so I could have another wander around, see how work on the docks is progressing.  But not enough to give up the door-to-door transfer!